Lower Circulating Sertoli and Leydig Cell Hormone Levels During Puberty in Obese Boys: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Context: Alterations in semen characteristics and circulating Sertoli and Leydig cell hormones have been described in obese male adults. Whether hormonal alterations occur before adulthood has not been fully evaluated. Objective: We describe circulating Sertoli and Leydig cell hormone levels in overweight-obese (ow/ob) boys through childhood and adolescence in a cross-sectional study. Methods: Monocentric study in the Pediatric Endocrinology Unit of Angers University Hospital. Three hundred and fifty-one obese and overweight boys aged 5-19 years underwent physical examination, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for body composition, oral glucose tolerance test on insulin and glucose, and measurements of follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), inhibin B, testosterone, and estradiol. Hormonal levels were compared with normative data obtained from 652 healthy nonoverweight nonobese boys of similar age or Tanner stage. Results: Median inhibin B and testosterone levels during puberty were significantly lower in ow/ob than in healthy boys (1) from age >12 years and thereafter for inhibin B, and (2) from age >14 years and thereafter for testosterone. At Tanner stages 4 and 5, 26%, 31%, and 18% of inhibin B, testosterone, and AMH values were below the 5th percentile in ow/ob subjects (P